Hi, I’m Miikka and I’m the first employee at 3XO. So what happens to work community when the first employee is added to a small team? What happens when there are no processes? Well, I’m living proof of that experiment, and in this post I’ll show you what is happening behind the curtains, and maybe even give some answers to those questions above.

Bachelor of Science

Studying 4th year Information Networks in Aalto University

Firsthand experience of conducting and analyzing sales

Likes to solve problems and sees opportunities in digitalization

Loves football, great music and coffee, beer and books

I’m a 23-year-old guy living in Helsinki, Finland, and I started working with Christian, Kimi and Atso last week. I had met them a couple of times last year, but we had mainly shared a few coffees and lunches. Naturally, a founding team of three is very solid, and it’s not straightforward to integrate a new, less experienced, and younger person to that kind of group. When the company is young and agile, and there are no heavy or tested onboarding processes, there are some traps to avoid. Of course, a dynamic atmosphere helps in the integration, but 3XO’s values and culture is what I found most inspiring: critical discussion, an effective way of working focused on solving problems, and most importantly, active involvement to different tasks.

I’ve worked in big corporations, where the onboarding process has worked nicely on paper, but integration to the work community has maybe lacked. Sometimes it was due to people next to me working with entirely different tasks, sometimes it was because of the hurry, and sometimes it was just the lack of challenging tasks. Obviously, it’s easy to give a new, young employee some secondary development tasks, and then appoint some more random tasks when needed. However, here at 3XO, I’m involved in development and planning just like everyone else. So clearly these guys wanted something more than just some youngster to write appraisals to a blog or to brew coffee (even though I’m pretty damn good at it). I think I’ve already brought some variety and fresh thinking to our brainstorming sessions. I’ve learnt a ton about sales systemization and digital tools; I can tell you, these guys really know what they are doing.

Like Christian mentioned in an earlier post, diversity is something that should be pursued, but not by too harsh compromises. A slightly different field of study, experience from different firms, or a different network are valuable sources of diversity for a small company. Additionally, my - hopefully non-irritating - personality and younger age add new ingredients to the mix of values and personalities in this continuously evolving environment.

If you’re still reading this, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve enjoyed my first weeks at 3XO. It’s really refreshing to start and work in a company that you can honestly describe as dynamic and flexible. The instant responsibilities, transparent working culture, and challenging and beneficial tasks make me feel very welcome, but still inspired and curious about new things. So, even though we don’t have an espresso machine at the office (I thought every new venture has one), I can say I’m delighted to be here. So: integration completed!